Travel

If you drive, you may have to stop for a number of weeks after your SCAD. 

Click here for information on whether you can drive after a heart attack and here for whether you have to inform the DVLA and your insurance company.

If you are driving on holiday or for long journeys, schedule regular stops to get out of the car and move around.

When leaving the UK:

• Take all your medications with you in their original boxes, not unlabelled in pill containers (you could have problems getting through customs).
• Take your prescription with you in case you lose your meds.
• Check that the medications you take are legal in the country you are visiting.
• Check if you need a letter from your doctor about your medications.
• If you use pain-killers, check that the brand you use is legal in the country you are visiting.
• Take more medications than you need with you, in case your return journey gets delayed.
• Take your own SCAD Information Pack 
• Request our foreign language leaflets via the Downloads form.
• Look up the details of the nearest hospital with cardiac facilities to where you are staying. Print out the address and phone number. (The international SCAD Survivors group on Facebook can be a good place to ask if there are any good SCAD doctors in ‘X’ city…)
• Put all of this information in your hand luggage – not in your suitcase, just in case your suitcase goes missing.
• And once you have prepped all this stuff, put it in something like a zipped-up clear plastic wallet. Tell your travelling companion where to find it if needed, then you can forget all about it and have a fantastic time!

We strongly recommend that when buying travel/holiday insurance SCAD patients declare that you have had a SCAD.

SCAD has an association with recurrence – it’s not a high risk but it’s there. If you tick the box saying you don’t have a problem, your insurer won’t cover you if you have a recurrence.

Insurers may list SCAD as a cause of heart attacks, or you may need to declare you have ‘heart disease’ when requesting a quote. If they don’t list SCAD we recommend calling them rather than filling in an online form to ensure you get the correct policy for you.

Many insurance companies will cover pre-existing conditions, as long as you declare them. However, some will exclude conditions that have not yet been formally diagnosed or for which you are having tests or investigations. If that is the case, you will need to decide if you are happy to travel with such exclusions from your policy. We recommend you check your policy carefully to ensure it provides the cover you need.

Insurance rules around pre-existing conditions are very strict. A claim can be denied if any pre-existing condition (not necessarily related to SCAD) was not mentioned when the policy was taken out, or if a new condition arose between the time of taking out the policy and travelling.

So when taking out an insurance policy we recommend ensuring that health matters you have discussed with any health professional are declared and if anything changes before you go on holiday, contact your insurance provider to update them and make sure you are still covered.

Make sure the policy covers who you are travelling with too, so that, in the unlikely event anything happens to any of you, you can stay and travel together should your plans change 

We are unable to recommend any particular insurance provider, but you might find it helpful to look at comparison websites such as Medical Travel Compared and Confused.com. However, not all medical insurance providers will be included on these sites, so it is important to do a general search for 'medical travel insurance' and leave plenty of time to shop around to find the best policy for you.

Dr David Adlam, who is leading the UK SCAD research, talks about travel insurance and SCAD in this video.

There are very few restrictions on air travel for cardiac patients; however you can clarify with your cardiologist/GP.

If you travel in London and are unable to stand for any length of time, you can get a ‘please give me a seat’ badge. Apply for it here

If you have challenges getting around this might be helpful. The Access Card acts as a photo ID you can show at events and venues so they can help you with accessibility needs. Click here for more details.